Press Release

BizBash's Event Planner Trade Show to Return to Javits
Great Ideas in a Challenging Environment to Be Virtual Theme of One-Day Event
Personal Emergency Preparedness Training to Be Offered

New York, New York - September 3, 2008 - The BizBash Event Style Expo NY and education conference, presented by BizBash Media, will be held October 29 from 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the trade show floor opening at 11:30 a.m. Now in its eighth year, the expo and education conference will be returning to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center after three years at Pier 94. The BizBash Expo is the largest regional trade show for event professionals and draws more than 2,500 attendees from all over the Northeast. The education program will feature 15 classes and seminars on the latest trends and ideas in the industry. More than 300 exhibitors will showcase their products and services, including event planning companies, specialty foods dealers, invitation companies, staging and audiovisual companies, hotels, unique independent venues, rental companies, caterers, entertainers, event technology providers, destination management companies, and other companies offering cutting-edge event and meeting tools. BizBash also hosts Event Planner Expos in Los Angeles at the LA Convention Center and in Chicago at the Merchandise Mart.

As part of the "Ready for Anything" campaign being initiated by BizBash, all of its trade shows will offer personal emergency preparedness training in conjunction with the American Heart Association. The 2.5-hour training session will be a certified course that is part of the company's mission to train 1,000 event professionals. According to recent surveys and studies, event professionals are in a near-crisis situation in regard to personal safety training for possible incidents at their events.

Says BizBash C.E.O. David Adler, "The Event Style Expo has truly become the annual gathering place for anyone who touches special events, meetings, trade shows, and innovative face-to-face marketing of any type. When we started BizBash almost nine years ago, events were a nice thing to have-now, in tough economic times, face-to-face connections are even more important and are recognized as a marketing must."

While BizBash's trade show floor will be filled with thousands of inspiring and unique ideas, the keynote address will focus on the topic of the importance of the business of events in challenging times. Dax Callner, vice president of strategy and planning for the world's largest experiential marketing firm, Jack Morton Worldwide, has been tapped to make the case.

In the afternoon, Elizabeth Harrison, author of Party Confidential: New Etiquette for Fabulous Entertaining and a major PR and marketing guru in the event industry, will allow the audience to see what she is recommending to her top clients in 2009.

Conference program attendees will leverage the experience of event veterans, expanding their knowledge and keeping abreast of the latest industry trends. Nine timely education sessions are scheduled throughout the day. Topics include:

Back to Basics: Fundamentals of Event Planning

Join the Next Virtual Marketing Revolution

Planning Successful Nonprofit Events/Galas in Challenging Times

Hot Legal Issues in Venues and Hotels

Essential Technology for Event Planners

Safety Training Certificate Program

Trend-Spotting With the BizBash Editors

How to Manage an In-House Event Department

Spend Less Time Working, Get More Done; and Personnel Productivity

For the first time ever, the 2008 BizBash Hall of Fame will honor distinguished "event partners" who have helped shape the industry with their forward thinking and creative excellence. Honorees include John Schwartz and Mark Veeder of EventQuest, Lara Shriftman and Elizabeth Harrison of Shriftman & Harrison, and Jaclyn Bernstein and Rob Hulsmeyer of Empire Force Events.

Vendors chosen to be involved in this year's show include Metropolitan Exposition, which will manage exposition services, and First Protocol, which will manage operations. The senior manager of the show is Richard Aaron, president of BizBash Media. The show hours are 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information can be found at the expo Web site at www.bizbash.com/ny/tradeshow.

About BizBash

Since its founding in 2000, BizBash Media has become the event industry's leading source for inspiration, smart marketing strategies, and useful tools, helping to revolutionize the ways event professionals get ideas and connect with each other. BizBash serves six major markets with its trade shows, and with its Web sites and magazines customized to these six markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Toronto, and Florida. The BizBash National Venue Guide covers an additional 12 markets.